Retainer endgate



May 31, 1966 J. H. BING ETAL 3,253,834

EEEEEEEEEEEEE TE INVENTORS. JOHN H. BING HERBERT W. COLWILL May 31, 1966 J. H. BING ETAI. 3253334 EEEEEEEEEEEEEE TE F'i-led Sept. 27, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. JOHN H. B HERBERT W. COLW RETAINER ENDGA'I'E INVENTORS. h1 JOHN H. BING BY ERBERT W. COLWILL United States Patent O 3,253,834 RETAINER ENDGATE John H. Bing, Greenville, and Herbert W. Colwill, Celina Ohio, assignors to Avco Corporation, Coldwater, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 27, 1963, Ser. No. 312,207 1 Claim. (Cl. 275-6) .This invention relates -to a retainer endgate assembly for a spread-ing and scattering device and is particularly adaptable for use with a manure spreader.

An endgate adaptable for use on a manure spreader requires that the endgate be capable of actuation to a position for retaining the load prior to spreading and must also be .actuated in the field to a nonretaining position to allow Operation of the spreader.

It is also important that the endgate, when it is moved out of the way for Operation of the spreader, be in a position such that it will not collect material thereon thrown by the scattering element.

The present invention conte-mplates a retainer endgate capable of being lifted from its material retaining position upwardly to a position such that it is out of the way and positioned at an angle such that it will not collect material thereon thrown-by the beater.

It is a further feature of this invention that the endgate, when it is in a downward or material retaining position, is positioned inclined rearwardly from bottom edge to top edge of its planar surface, so that the plane through the retaining surface of the endgate makes an acute angle with the vertical when the endgate is in a downward position thereby providing for a downward Component of the load sufiicient to materially assist in holding said endgate in downward position.

It is a -further feature that when the endgate is in an upward position during spreading that the endgate be in a position such that .its planar surface makes an acute angle with the horizontal. In this position the endgate, above the central region longitudinally of the box, is assure-d of being located in such position relative to the rotating beater that material is not collected on the surface of the endgate in an objectionable amount, as the planar surface of the endgate is inclined toward parallelism with the path of load material thrown from the Ibeater or other scattering means.

The above and other features and objects of the invention will appear more f-ully from the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a spreader with the endgate down and in position to retain material in the box of a spreader.

`iFIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1, it being also a perspective view but with the endgate in its upward position located so that the beater may operate for spreading.

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic side view of the several elements of the spreader and endgate With full line showing of the endgate in the upward position for spreading and with a dotted line showing of the endgate in a downward position to retain material prior to spreading.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIG- URES 1 and 2, reference numeral refers to a manure spreader unit of this invention, which comprises a loadcarrying box 12 formed as a two-wheeled vehicle and includes a draft connection l16 and a power-take-of connection v18, intended to make it possible to connect this vehicle to a tractor (not shown) with power from .the tractor to actuate the mechanism as a spreader and scattering device in a manner well' known in the art. The tractor operates also 4to draw the vehicle over the ground, while spreading the material therefrom. Box 12 includes Patented May 31, 1966 ice a conventional conveyor assembly actuated by suitable and well-known drive mechanism carried in the gear box 22 to rotate the scattering means, here disclosed as beater 24, and to cause the conveyor 20, through chain 26, to move a load of material carried in the box 12 rearwardly toward the end of the box for shredding and scattering .by .the rotating single beater unit 24. The spreader unit, generally described above, is of the type disclosed in copending application Serial No. 244,055, atiledl December 12, 1962. The endgate mechanism disclosed herein is, however, not necessarily limited to use with the specific illustrative type of .spreading device shown.

The mechanism of this invention comprises an endgate 30 for-med to be positioned in the spreader box 12 at the rearward portion thereof, but ahead of the beater unit 24. This endgate 30 is positioned, as is shown in PIG- URE 3, with its top edge inclined rearwardly at an acute angle With the vertical so that the weight of load carried in the .box will exert a downward component on the planar surface of the endgate, tending to hold the endgate downwardly in the box. The force Components are diagrammatically shown in FIGURE 3; The endgate is positioned by two lifting arms 34, 36, shown in FIG-URIE 1 as extending along the top sides of the box 12 to a position substantially in central portion longitudinally of the box where a pivot 318 is provided, which is secured to the Vbox side. One such pivot 38 is on one side of the box and a pivot 40 is on the opposite side of the box, there .being a pivot for each of the lifting arms 34 and 36. A

bell crank arm 44 at the pivot 40 is connected to the arm.

36. To the extending end of the bell crank arm 44 a compression shaft 46 is connected, capable of lifting the entire assembly comprising endgate 30 and the lifting arms 34 and 36 on compression movement of the shaft 46. This shaft 46, as is shown in FIGURE 1, is herein disclosed connected to a single-acting hydraulic cylinder 50. This hydraulic cylinder 50 is actuated through fluid hydraulic connections, s-uch as 52, which connect to the .tractor hydraulic system, not shown, so that when the hydraulic pressure is caused to a-ct in the cylinder 50 through the connection 52 by conventional and well-known manual hydraulic controls operable on the tractor, the shaft 46, acting in compression, will lift the endgate assembly from a downward position, shown in FIGU'RE 1, to the upper position shown in FIGURE 2. The length and location of the shafts and .bell crank, as shown, is such that when the hydraulic cylinder has extended to its full travel the endgate will be in the position shown in FIG- URE 2 and in full line position in FIGURE 3, and with the endgate having a positionsuch that the plane of its face is at an acute angle to the horizontal with its bottom rearward positioned edge lower than its top forward positioned edge, While with the hydraulic cylinder released from pressure the endgate will fall downwardly to the retaining position shown in FIGURE 1, corresponding to the dotted line position in FIGURE 3. It is noted that in the downward retaining position the endgate 30 is in an inclined position so that the plane of its face is an acute angle to the vertical, the top of the endgate being inclined rearwardly of -the box from the vertical an amount sufficient, here .shown as greater than 1-0 degrees, to provide a downward component of load acting to hold the endgate down so that only a single acting hydraulic cylinder 50 is necessary as disclosed herein which cylinder lifts the endgate but does not act .to hold it down.

In Operation, the endgate in the position shown in FIGURE 1 is ready to load and retain material and when the material is loaded therein and the spreader taken to the field for spreading, the cylinder 50 is actuated by the tractor operator by the manual controls to cause fluid under pressure to enter at the hydraulic connection 52 to cause the piston in the hydraulic cylinder to urge the compression shaft 46 rearwardly, thus lifting the entire assembly 30, 34, 36, 38, 40 and 44 to put the mechanism in the upward position, shown in FIGURE 2. It is noted (see FIGURE 3) that in the upward position theI surface of the endgate 30 is at an acute angle to the horizontaland that in the downward posit-ion the endgate 30 is at an acute angle to the vertical With the top of the endgate inclined :rearwardly so that the downward Vertical weight Component of material in the box (see FIGURE 3) tends to hold the endgate in a downward position. With the location of the liftting arms 34, 36, as shown, the endgate can nevertheless be -lifted with relative ease by the hydraulic cylinder into the upward position with the incline of its planar surface at an acute angle to the hol'izontal With its top forward positioned edge higher than its bottom rearward positioned edge, as shown. The position is such that the surfaces of the endgate do not accumulate material from the beater during scattering. Furthermore, the hydraulic cylinder, pressure actuated during spreading, easily holds the endgate in the upper position without complicated mechanisms previously required for such a device. Also, with the inclined position of the endgate in the down position, the load' serves to hold the endgate in position without the use' of a double-acting hydraulic cylinder for this purpose if desired. It is then possible to use an hydraulic cylinder with fluid pressure acting on one side of the piston only with release of pressure when desired to drop the endgate bby gravity into the downward position, where it is held in position by the load until lifted during spreading.

Although the invention has been described by reference to an illustrative embodiment found practical in actual Operation, it is intended that various modifications may be made within the scope of the following claim.

We claim:

In a retainer endgate assembly for a spreader and scattering device having a box With upstanding sides extending rearward to an open end, and with scattering means positioned at the open end for scattering material therefrom, the combination therewith of:

an endgate formed with its planar surface located transversely of said box and forward of said scattering device to retain material forward in said box;

the uppermost edge of said endgate, when in load vretaining position in said box, located rearward of the lowermost edge thereof with its said planar surface inclined rearward toward said scattering device but out of contact therewith and so positioned that said planar surface makes an acute angle with the vertical in amount suflicient to provide a positive downward weight compo'nent from load of material in said box on said inclined endgate surface thereby to hold said endgate down in a load retaining position in said box;

a pair of lifting arms, one extending forward from each end of said endgate and each arm substantially Iparallel and adjacent to a vside of said box and terminating in a central region longitudinally of said box;

pivot connections, one for each of said lifting arms secured one to each of said box sides adjacent the forward ends of said Ilifting arms;

. means connecting each of said lift'ing arms to its respective pivot connection;

a bell crank arm secured to at least one of said lifting arms and extending downwardly from the corresponding pivot Connections a'djacent the outside of at least one of said box sides;

a compression shaft pivoted at the end of said bell crank and extending forward along the outside of said box toward the front of said box;

a single acting hydraulic cylinder actuating means positioned adjacent the forward end of said box and connnected to actuate said compression shaft in a rearward direction;

means manually operable to actuate said hydraulic cylinder actuating means, thereby to lift said endgate against said downward load Component, on resulting actuation of said compression shaft, upward and forward from its load material retaining position in said box to a fixed position above a central region longitudinally of said box, whereby the planai' surface of said endgate is positioned inclined toward parallelism with the path of load material thrown toward said endgate by said scattering means during' the scattering of load material from said box.

References Cited by the Examincr UNITED STATES PATENTS ABRAHAM G. STONE, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM A. SMITH III, Assstant Examiner. 

